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Officers at West Northamptonshire Council have recommended scrapping its Director of Legal and Governance position and to temporarily transfer the responsibilities of monitoring officer in order to save money.

In a report set to be considered in full council meeting on Thursday (26 September), West Northamptonshire's executive director for finance, Martin Henry, said the recommendation comes after the current position holder, Catherine Whitehead, requested voluntary redundancy.

Whitehead, who has also been acting as monitoring officer, requested voluntary redundancy for personal reasons "but also in order for the Council to make a budget saving", the report said.

The report added: "Given the need to make financial savings and the view that the post can be deleted and the work of the postholder safely absorbed elsewhere, the Chief Executive reluctantly agreed to progress this proposal.

"It is therefore recommended that the post of Director of Legal and Democratic is deleted from the establishment."

The officer's report also recommended that the current Deputy Director of Legal and Democratic Services, Sarah Hall, be made interim monitoring officer from 1 October and that councillors delegate authority to the Executive Director Finance to make consequential changes to the Constitution, including to the list of proper officers.

Elsewhere, the report added: "Given the good work that Ms Whitehead has carried out in terms of the stabilisation and then development of Legal and Democratic Services, it is considered that the Director's post can be deleted and the responsibilities of the role, including the statutory MO function currently attached to this role, distributed elsewhere within the service area without any significant detriment to the Council."

According to the officer's report, deleting the Director of Legal and Democratic post will save approximately £150,000 annually.

The council, which has reportedly struggled with increasing demand and costs for services, previously had to address a budget gap of £31.7m for the current financial year.

In its budget and financial plan for 2024/25, the council identified £24m worth of efficiencies and increased council tax by 4.99%, the maximum allowed without triggering a referendum.

Commenting on the proposals, Anna Earnshaw, the council's chief executive, said: "Catherine has been central to the successes of our Council, having ensured our organisation was 'safe and legal' from Day One, then continuing to work hard to develop our governance, democratic and legal services effectively.

"She has been an integral part of our leadership team and our work to build a positive culture and embed good practice across our organisation and will be greatly missed."

She added: "With the appointment of Sarah Hall as Interim Monitoring Officer, we know that the statutory legal duties of our authority will continue to be in safe and experienced hands and maintained at the highest standards."

The leader of the council, Cllr Adam Brown, added: "I would like to thank Catherine for all her dedication and commitment to our council over the past four years. Her performance has been exemplary and her legal background, technical and managerial experience and capability has played no small part in our council's achievements to date.

"Although we will be sad to see her leave, we are also happy for her that she is fulfilling her wish for retirement to pursue new experiences."

Whitehead, who joined West Northamptonshire in November 2020, was recently awarded Legal Professional of the Year by Lawyers in Local Government and has worked in local government for 40 years, first starting her career at the Greater London Council in 1984.

The report described the recommended interim monitoring officer, Sarah Hall, as "ambitious and highly regarded inside and outside of the organisation".

It added: "Providing her with the opportunity to take on the statutory role of Monitoring Officer will help to retain a talented individual in the organisation and demonstrates that the Council does believe in effective succession planning and also seeks to nurture, develop and reward talented individuals in the organisation."

Adam Carey

 

 

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